65 REFLECTIONS SUFFER.ING TOW AR.D THE WHITE HOUSE means of demonstrating that it hasn't all been easy for them, either. Vice-President George Bush, the Times noted, has been found to strike voters as a "shallow aristocrat," a "lapdog," and a "wimp." To rebut these charges, he went on "60 Min- utes" and talked about the suffering that he and his wife endured when their three-year-old daughter died of leukemia, in 1953. " A little strength comes from that," he said. Later, in an appearance before several hundred sup- "'o"' t? 1 f'" Q , I ftt\ '--7J X CORDING to a story in the Times, political pollsters claim that voters today most of all want their next President to have "heart" or "soul." Apparently, the words can be used interchangeably, which is fitting, since they are equally meaningless-sort of linguistic grunts of the inarticulate. Given the polls' pervasive and sometimes insidious ef- fects on the body politic and given the inordinately large number of candi- dates running for President this time -a politician's dozen, at the latest count-we are likely to be awash in maudlin sentimentality long before Election Day comes around. Other polls in the past have shown that the public has come to be- lieve that all aspirants for high political office in this country are the synthetic creations of mass-marketing publici- ty and advertising cam- paigns (which are, of course, based on polls), so this time candidates for the highest office are trying to avoid that ap- pearance by synthetical- ly creating themselves (again, of course, based on the polls). To that end, they are now pounding along the campaign trail with their hearts on their sleeves and their souls in their mouths, to per- suade the public that they are actual human beings. "They are showing their emotions, talking about their feel- ings, revealing intimate details about their pasts," the Times re- ported. "Everywhere you look, the men who would be President are, as the poet Rod McKuen once put it, 'listening to the warm.' " What they have heard has led them, separately, to a surpris- ingly similar response- public displays of their private sufferings, as a porters, Bush boasted that in the Second World War he was, at the age of eighteen, the youngest pilot in the Navy. "I happen to believe," he went on, "that seeing my comrades in my own plane killed in combat, and hav- ing seen people on our ship killed in combat, that that sensitizes me to the importance of a strong national securi- ty." Bush cannot open his mouth without putting both of his political feet in it. If he keeps it up, he may establish a new record for inepti- ;VOUS Rm .., I I . --I @ + r I _ I 11 0 u { S w , {e. Y o lJ 0... ( f. C ( 0 .s (: V' 0 v J t;\ ß ke I to ( I I ( \2J + ' t + l v,eð..f tl'O + Oven iSY1 I + tb (Y1 Je 5uýl '^ LI {; ( J b \J t {(Ã r- e 0 V j 0.. W Y 0 se..t1 1 V\' o.VlyTl.,ltlj {) Ho.t It ) by (J.,l'1y ( "'-"''' +he oV '" 5 hov/J cxflode yo v W'Il! e SC I!\ f e WI H 0 Yll t INJ 1>1. 0 r I V1J t.< VI e S rn "Je. (J.. ý í 0.1'\ j t YY1 < " +s h h (J.. v e S ð me. 0 Y1 e rc WI 0 ve C kí "k e '" r w I ( < Y o II st 0. V1 J u.. t He 0 fro 5 í te e V1 J ð-+ troY)') oven t n( to @ G cr fø..y 50 ",,0 PlfÁ(.l ( ,,(.ket') ,.., oven klt,- eV\. (b (J='J 0 ææfNJ /.j t He ove.. fo/ yov U S I Y1J Si x- foot +b :J) +ÚíV\ ort DVI ðVf...V\ m',+t J ove.-V\ (7.. Clvø-r